Remarkable turnaround continues as Newcastle extend their winning run

OCTOBER 24, and despite having claimed their first Premier League victory of the season in their previous match against Leicester City, 18th-placed Newcastle United found themselves in the relegation zone.

November 24, and having claimed another 1-0 home win, fifth-placed Newcastle United find themselves in a Europa League spot. Even by their own somewhat surreal standards, that’s quite some turnaround.

Even Alan Pardew admits he struggles to believe the extent of the transformation, both on the pitch, where the Magpies have developed a high-intensity, counter-attacking style that is clearly playing to their strengths, and off it, where the calls for a change of manager have been silenced and the ‘Sack Pardew’ banners stuffed into the back of a cupboard.

Nobody saw this coming, and while next month’s run of games against Chelsea, Arsenal, Sunderland, Manchester United and Everton could halt the upward charge, the last five weeks have completely altered the outlook of a club that was gripped by a crisis that now seems incredulous.

Not even Chelsea have won five Premier League matches in a row this season, yet Saturday’s hard-fought success over QPR means Newcastle have done exactly that, with a Capital One Cup win at Manchester City also thrown into the winning sequence for good measure.

It is a remarkable run, and while there are a number of factors that help explain the sudden upturn – the introduction of some hungry youngsters, key players rediscovering their best form, greater intensity levels right across the field – one statistic above all others outlines where Newcastle have improved most.

In their last six victories, they have conceded just one goal, Emmanuel Adebayor’s header in the 2-1 win at Spurs. That was 432 minutes of action ago, and having shipped nine goals in the space of three games against Crystal Palace, Southampton and Hull earlier this season, the Magpies have successfully overhauled their entire defensive system to remarkable effect.

The improvement is not down to the performances of any one individual as injuries have forced Pardew to chop and change his back four, with Mike Williamson and Paul Dummett coming together at centre-half for the first time at the weekend in the absence of Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor.

Instead, it is the result of a collective approach that sees Newcastle’s midfielders pressing their opponents at the earliest opportunity and protecting their back four when they do not have the ball, safe in the knowledge that they can utilise the pace of the likes of Ayoze Perez, Remy Cabella and Moussa Sissoko to spring counter-attacks when they gain possession.

Newcastle’s central defenders no longer find themselves exposed, as was the case in September’s 4-0 defeat at Southampton, a game that proved something of a watershed in terms of altering the Magpies’ tactical mindset.

“There was a change in attitude after that,” explained Jack Colback, whose defensive midfield role is key to Newcastle’s new approach. “That day was an eye opener. We went to Southampton and maybe underestimated their attacking abilities, and left ourselves far too open.

“We got punished for that. We are not the only team to have had a bad day down there because they are a very good team, but it taught us a bit of a lesson about how we have to be.

“I think as players we looked at each other and said, ‘Look, we are in a battle here’. Everyone had to realise that. Earlier in the season we were a bit too open and expansive, and maybe there was a bit of naivety there as well at times, but we have pulled together as a unit and worked hard on the training pitch.

“The manager has got across to us what he wants, and if you get that base and defensive foundation then you can always nick games 1-0. We have won the past three home games 1-0 and while they have not been great performances, we have still won.”

Resilience is not a word that has generally been associated with Newcastle in the past, but it certainly applies to the current side with Colback providing a crucial shield in front of the back four and the likes of Ryan Taylor, who was superb in the first half hour of Saturday’s game before suffering an injury, Yoan Gouffran, who replaced him, and Sissoko, who scored the 78th-minute winner, all relishing their defensive duties as well as the more creative side of the game.

Disciplined, well organised and extremely hard to break down, Newcastle have rarely looked like conceding throughout their six-game winning run, and aside from tipping over a Richard Dunne header, Tim Krul was barely tested against QPR.

The Magpies were the dominant side throughout, both in terms of possession and territory, and while they hardly carved out a succession of chances themselves, it always felt as though a breakthrough was possible.

Taylor twice went close in the first half with shots that were saved by Robert Green, while Perez wasted a golden opportunity shortly before the hour mark when he shot marginally too close to the QPR goalkeeper after breaking through the middle to race on to a ball from Sissoko.

The deadlock was eventually broken courtesy of the best move of the game, with Sissoko cutting in from the left-hand side in order to receive a fine cushioned through ball from Sammy Ameobi and swivelling inside his defender before stroking a precise finish into the corner.

“Moussa has been fantatsic and is a pleasure to play with,” said Colback. “He can do everything as a midfielder. If he is struggling in the defensive half, he just wriggles out and gets you up to the edge of the box with his power and pace.

“That is the type of player that you want at a club like this. He has got a lot of quality, but that is true of the whole team. Hopefully, this is just the start of things to come.”